Take enough money for your trip and some back-up funds, such as traveller’s cheques (in sterling or US dollars) or credit cards. Before you leave, find out how you can replace your traveller’s cheques and credit cards if you lose them, and keep a separate note of their numbers.

Before you go, get a good guidebook and get to know your destination. Find out about local laws and customs, and follow them. Be aware of your personal security and take sensible precautions to protect yourself.

Who we can help

We can provide the support detailed in this guide to people outside the UK who are:

British nationals (whether or not they normally live in the UK – but see page 7);

in certain limited circumstances, British nationals with another nationality – ‘dual nationals’; and

European Union or Commonwealth nationals whose country does not have a local mission, in circumstances where we have agreed to help their nationals.

We cannot provide this support to other countries’ nationals, even if they may have been lawfully living in the UK.

Some major catastrophes involving British nationals abroad may need exceptional levels of response beyond what is described in this guide, as detailed on page 30. It is not easy to define every possible circumstance, but these events may be the result of natural disasters or large-scale accidents, or of terrorism or conflict. No one set of responses will meet all circumstances.

If the Foreign Secretary considers an event to be a major catastrophe affecting significant numbers of people we can help, we will:

consider very early on whether exceptional help should be provided from public funds;

Set up an emergency line for those who believe their loved ones may have been involved;

provide information if we have it, and if we believe it to be reliable, to people who have been affected and their family members who we are in contact with; and

consider sending appropriate extra staff to the country involved.
When offering you support, we will:

be polite and professional;

maintain confidentiality;

answer enquiries and requests for help in person, on the phone or in writing as soon as possible;

explain clearly, from the start, how we can help you;

provide appropriate cover so that someone can deal with genuine emergencies outside normal office hours; and

make sure our help is accessible and equal to everyone, no matter what their sex, race, age, colour, sexuality, disability or religion.

You should:

treat our staff with respect (if you are physically or verbally abusive, we may refuse to continue to help you);

have full travel insurance, or health care and any other appropriate cover if you live abroad;

have made preparations before travelling, for example, packing medicine, having any necessary vaccinations, and leaving details of your itinerary with family or friends;